A “self-contained retreat”
The majority of the resort’s 329 guest rooms are in the inn, but there is group housing in the spa mansion and in 10 two- and three-bedroom villas on the golf course.
“People can come here and have a very successful meeting,” said Rollins. “It is a self-contained retreat. There are no outside distractions.”
There are, however, plenty of diversions onsite. In addition to the pub, the spa and the winery, Chateau Elan has eight restaurants, four golf courses, seven tennis courts, four swimming pools — two resistance — a fitness center, nature trails, a jogging trail, horseshoes, basketball half courts, volleyball courts and a ropes course.
Because of the many options, a New York financial planning company decided to have its employees do different kinds of team building instead of just one activity when the firm brought 275 employees to Chateau Elan for its annual meeting recently. The group bought out the inn for its three-night, four-day conference.
Until two years ago, the resort’s conference center was accredited by the International Association of Conference Centers. But management opted instead to focus on corporate business and decided that the IACC designation was not critical to that business.
Housed within the inn, the 25,000-square-foot conference center has two divisible ballrooms, one measuring 4,264 square feet, the other 6,136; it also has 19 conference rooms, two boardrooms and a 60-seat tiered auditorium with a stage.
Except for the ballrooms, which are interior spaces, all of the meeting spaces have access to the outdoors. A large atrium in the inn serves as a prefunction area.
Although most of the meeting space is located on the inn’s first floor on the back side of the inn, some spaces are in the wings that flank the inn, with a ballroom on one side and four meeting rooms on the other. A newly renovated 12-person boardroom is on the fifth floor.
On one side of the atrium is the Versailles Restaurant; the other side, which opens to the newly revamped pool and deck area, is a popular place for groups.
“The atrium is a perfect place for receptions, breakfasts and lunches,” said Rollins. It can handle up to 275 for receptions.
Chateau Elan has continually and gradually grown thanks to the Panozes. Donald Panoz made his fortune in pharmaceuticals as the founder of Elan Corp. and the creator of the nicotine patch.
Today, the Panozes have ventured into other areas: resorts, spring water and auto racing among them. But even as Chateau Elan continues to renovate and expand, its major attraction goes back to its roots: the winery. It is where the resort began, and soon it will become the recipient of a facelift, scheduled for 2014. The resort is rolling out new programs for the winery, replanting the whole vineyard and expanding its varietals.
“The winery is our No. 1 selling point,” said Rollins.
